Finally, the long-awaited Windows 11 has now been made available for Microsoft (Windows) users. Windows 11 is an update to the Windows 10 operating system and it was officially launched on June 24, 2021, five (5) years after the launch of Windows 10 (July 29, 2015). If you recently upgraded your PC’s operating system (OS) you’d realize that Microsoft has made Microsoft Edge the default browser in Windows 11.
Are you are unhappy about the decision Microsoft has made for you? Do you wish you knew how to change the default browser in Windows? Well not to worry, because today’s guide was prepared specifically for those reasons as I’ll be teaching you how to change the default browser in Windows 11.
Everyone who has been using Microsoft Windows operating system can relate to the problems that were experienced when using the Microsoft browser “Internet Explorer”, for instance, people often complained about the browser being sluggish and how it took ages for updates to come through. Because of the issues people faced and the complaints, Microsoft has been receiving, they decided to solve this problem by introducing a new browser “Microsoft Edge” together with the Windows 10 operating system while people on the other hand before the Microsoft Edge was introduced sought for other better browser which leads to the decline in the use of Microsoft inbuilt browser.
It might interest you to note that Microsoft intends to discontinue the usage of Internet Explorer come June 15, 2022. This comes as no surprise as the Microsoft Edge comes with better features when compared with its predecessor (Internet Explorer) for example, Microsoft Edge receives regular updates and is based on the chromium engine which packs a lot of amazing features such as kids mode, vertical tabs, password monitor, collections, cross-platform support, and extensions.
Due to the previous challenges encountered when using Internet Explorer several people are still getting used to the idea of using Microsoft soft default browser (Microsoft Edge) and because of this would still prefer to use external browsers like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. If you fall into this category of people, be rest reassured, by the end of this blog post, you would have learnt how to change the default browser in Windows 11.
How to Change the Default Browser in Windows 11
To learn how to change the default browser in Windows 11, follow the set of instructions outlined below:
- Click on the Windows icon found at the bottom right corner of your screen to display the start menu. Alternatively, you can press the Windows key on your keyboard.
- On the start menu, click on Settings (the gear-like icon). Alternatively, you can achieve the same results by holding down the Windows key together with “I” (Windows key + I).
- Click on the Apps option found at the left sidebar.
- Click on Default Apps, which is found on the right side of your screen.
- Click on the Browser you’d like to use as the new default browser. In this guide, I’ll be using Google Chrome.
- Click on the .htm
- Click on the Switch anyway
- Now select your desired browser, in this case, Google Chrome.
- Click on the OK
At this point, you have successfully learnt how to change the default browser in Windows 11.
For this guide, before selecting chrome, .htm was the only link type selected. To add other link types (.html, .pdf, .svg, .xht, .shtml, .webp, HTTPS, FTP, HTML) repeat steps 6 – 9 before selecting your preferred browser.
If the steps above are too tedious, you can try changing your default browser from the browser software on your system. To learn how to change the default browser in Windows 11, follow the steps outlined below:
- Open the desired browser you’d like to make your default browser. In this case, I’ll be opening Google Chrome.
- Click on the three vertical dots found on the right side of the screen.
- Click on Settings (the gear-like icon).
- On the right hand of your screen, under Default Browser click on Make default.
If these steps work out for you then it’s a far easier option than following the previous steps. Hopefully, with future updates, the process of changing your default browser will be made easier on Windows 11.